Ali's Knockout Punch: How a Photograph Stunned the Boxing World

Ali's Knockout Punch: How a Photograph Stunned the Boxing World — page 3
Despite his youth and relative lack of experience Clay was certainly the talk of the boxing world before he stepped into the ring against Liston in 1964 He had first won national attention when he took the light-heavyweight boxing gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics Unlike Liston Clay was light on his feet moving quickly around his opponents and throwing fast punches He liked to say that he floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee Some of the boxers he fought however were not impressed with his power Floyd Patterson whom Liston beat for the heavyweight title in 1962 told fellow boxer José Torres Clay hit me right on the chin not once but many times I didn’t feel the damn punches He can’t punch Clay had won most of his fights before the 1964 bout with Liston by either a knockout or technical knockout Clay certainly had speed some power and the ability to avoid many of his opponents punches He could also talk For years before each of his fights Clay composed rhymes about what he would do to his opponents Before his first fight with Liston Clay recited a poem that said in part Yes the crowd did not dream when they laid down their money That they would see a total eclipse of the Sonny